Half-Caste Act was the common name given toActs of Parliament passed in thecolony of Victoria (Aboriginal Protection Act 1886) and thecolony of Western Australia (Aborigines Protection Act 1886) in 1886. They became the model for legislation to controlAboriginal people throughout Australia -Queensland'sAboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897;NSW/ACT'sAboriginal Protection Act 1909; theNorthern Territory Aboriginals Act 1910;South Australia'sAborigines Act 1911; andTasmania'sCape Barren Island Reserve Act 1912.
The various related Acts allowed the seizure of "half-caste" children (i.e.mixed race children; a term now deemed offensive) and their forcible removal from their parents. This was theoretically to provide them with better homes than those afforded by typical Aboriginal people, where they could grow up to work as domestic servants, and also forsocial engineering. The removed children are now known as theStolen Generations.
These Acts were a major impetus for a1967 referendum question. Some of the controls first created by the Acts remained in place until the early 1970s.
The VictorianHalf-Caste Act 1886 (in full, anAct to amend an Act entitled "An Act to Provide for the Protection and Management of the Aboriginal Natives of Victoria") was an extension and expansion of theAboriginal Protection Act 1869, which gave extensive powers over the lives ofAboriginal people in the colony of Victoria to theBoard for the Protection of Aborigines, including regulation of residence, employment, custody of children and marriage.[1][2][3]
The 1886 Act enabled the expulsion of Aboriginal people of mixed descent ("half-castes") aged from eight to 34 from theAboriginal reserves. This was intended to incorporate them into mainstream European society. These expulsions separated families and communities, causing distress and leading to protests. The expulsions and other policies led to a decline in the population of the reserves, and for much of their land to be sold or leased to European settlers. By 1926 all Victorian Aboriginal reserves had been closed except for Lake Tyers in Gippsland which had a population of about 250.[4]
The Western Australian Aboriginal Protection Board was established in 1886, with five members and a secretary, all of whom were nominated by the Governor, by theAborigines Protection Act 1886 (WA), orHalf-Caste Act.[citation needed]
The 1886 Act was enacted following the furor over the Fairbairn Report of 1882, which revealedslavery conditions among Aboriginal farm workers, and the work of Rev.John Gribble. The 1886 Act introduced employment contracts between employers and Aboriginal workers over the age of 14. There was no provision in the 1886 Act for contracts to include wages, but employees were to be provided with "substantial, good and sufficient rations", clothing, and blankets. The 1886 Act provided aresident magistrate with the power to indenture 'half-caste' and Aboriginal children from a suitable age until they turned 21. An Aboriginal Protection Board was also established to prevent the abuses reported earlier, but rather than protect Aborigines, it succeeded mainly in putting them under tighter government control. It was intended to enforce contracts, employment of prisoners, and apprenticeships, but there was not sufficient power to enforce clauses in the north, and they were openly flouted. The Act defined "Aboriginal" as "every Aboriginal native of Australia, every Aboriginal half-caste, or child of a half-caste". GovernorFrederick Broome insisted that the act contains within it a clause permittingtraditional owners to continue hunting on their tribal lands.[citation needed]
The effect of the Act was to give increasing power to the Board over Aboriginal people, rather than setting up a system to punish whites for wrongdoing in relation to Aboriginal people. An Aboriginal Department was set up under the office of theChief Protector of Aborigines. Nearly half of the Legislative Council voted to amend the Act for contract labour as low as 10, but it was defeated.McKenzie Grant, the member forThe North, claimed that child labour of 6 or 7 was a necessary commonplace, as "in this way they gradually become domesticated". The Attorney GeneralSeptimus Burt, in the debate on the second-reading speech, claimed that contracts were being issued not for current work but to hold Aboriginal people as slaves on stations for potential future work to prevent them from being free to leave.[citation needed]
Protectors of Aborigines were appointed by the Board under the conditions laid down in the various Acts. In theory, Protectors were empowered to undertake legal proceedings on behalf of Aboriginal people, dictate where Aboriginal people could live or work, and keep all wages earned by employed Aboriginal people.[citation needed]
As the Boards had limited funds, Protectors received very limited remuneration and so a range of people were appointed as local Protectors, including resident magistrates, jail wardens, Justices of the Peace and in some cases ministers of religion, but most were local police inspectors. The minutes of the Board show that they dealt with mostly matters of requests from religious bodies for financial relief and reports from Resident or Police Magistrates pertaining to trials and convictions of Aboriginal people under their jurisdiction.[citation needed]
Aboriginal Protection Boards also issued permits to allow Aboriginal people the right to leave their respectivemissions and enter mainstream society for a set period of time.[citation needed]
These two acts became the model for legislation to controlAboriginal people throughout Australia, includingQueensland'sAboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897;[5]NSW/ACT'sAboriginal Protection Act 1909; theNorthern Territory Aboriginals Act 1910;South Australia'sAborigines Act 1911; andTasmania'sCape Barren Island Reserve Act 1912.[citation needed]
The various related Acts allowed the seizure of enabled the forcible removal of "half-caste" children (i.e.mixed race children; a term now deemed offensive[6]) from their parents. This was theoretically to provide them with better homes than those afforded by typical Aboriginal people, where they could grow up to work as domestic servants, and also forsocial engineering.[7][8] "Half-caste" people were distinguished from "full-blood" Aboriginal people.[9]
These Acts were a major impetus for a1967 referendum question. Some of the controls first created by the Acts remained in place until the early 1970s.[citation needed]
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